Chassis latch handle



June 22 1965 J. VANDER sANDE ETAL 3,190,713

CHASSIS LATCH HANDLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 29, 1959INVENTOR m m m mR u REB W. ERM R D AHM .l vwl A LKW R www June 22, 1965J. L. VANDER sANDE ErAL 3,190,713

CHASSIS LATCH HANDLE Original Filed June 29, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.6F|G.7

INVENTORS JOHN L. VANDER .5A/VDE FRAN/f WHEELER BENJAMIN CHRI. B567/ NERTHE/? 14T TORNE YS v tion.

i the invention.

United States Patent 3,190,713 v CHASSIS LAT H HANDLE .lohn L. VanderSande, North Haledonn and Frank Wheeler, Little Falis, NJ., and BenjaminCarl Boehner, Van Nuys, Calif., assignors to Camloe FastenerCorporation, Paramus, NJ., a corporation of New York Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 323,551, June 29, 1959. This application Jan. 9,1963, Ser. No. 250,310 7 Claims. (Cl. S12-320) This application is acontinuation of our copending application Serial No. 823,551, filed June29, 1959, now abandoned.

This invention relates to improvements in latch fasteners and relatesmore particularly to an improved means for securing the freerend of alatch lever which also serves as a carrying handlefor the member to besecured.

The presentk application constitutes an improvement on the structuredisclosed in. application Ser. No. 710,836, now'Patent No. 2,925,056,wherein a novel latch is employed for moving a drawer -or chassisforming part'of an electronic device into a frame or housing thereforand securing the saine within the housing. The pivoted lever has agenerally C-shaped cam located just beyond the pivot on the sideopposite the main llever section, and this cam, mounted on the drawer orchassis, cooperates with a keeper mounted on the frame or housing tourge the chassis, which generally carries a plurality of connectors,into the housing and the complemental parts of the connectors` containedtherein. l

An important object of the present invention is to provide' improvedreadily releasable means for securing the free end of the lever-,handlein generally parallel relation with the .front walljof the chassis,thereby locking the latch in the housing and providing a secure handle,firmly supportedat its ends, for carrying the chassis with its delicatevand expensive components, when the parts are to be repaired orreplaced.

In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevationof a latch embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a broken vertical section.

FIG. 3 is a broken theinvention.

FIG. 4 is a broken section.

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4 but shows the parts in unfastened condition.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a third form of the inven- F'IG. 7 is a sideelevation thereof. lFIG. 8 is a side elevation showing a fourthinvention.

FIG. 9 is a front elevation thereof. FIG. 10 is a plan view. y FIG. l1is a section taken on line 2 2 of FIG. 8. FIG. 12 is a broken sectionVshowing the linal form of form of the FIG. 13 is a front elevation ofthe keeper.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the keeper.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in FGS. land 2 and it includesan elongated bracket 10 which is arranged to be mounted by means ofscrews or the like on the front wall of a removable box-like metalchassis 11, and at its lower end a pair of spaced ears 12 have a pivotpin 13 which supports a combined latch lever and carrying handle 14.This handle has a generally C- shaped extension 15. below the pivotwhichcooperates with a keeper (not shown) attached to the front of aframe or housing fora number of the chassis units. Curved cammingsurfaces on the front and rear faces of the extension aid in moving thechassis into and out of the housing.

front elevation of a second form of YCC Releasable means are provided atthe upper end of the lever which retains it in the position shown inFIG. l in fixed relation to the chassis. When in this secured positionthe lever secures the chassis against outward movement when it is in thehousing and also converts the lever into a convenient carrying handlesecured at both ends to the chassis when the latter is removed from thehousing for servicing or replacement.

In this rst embodiment of the invention the bracket has a thickenedupper end portion 16 provided with an opening 2h to receive the upper,inwardly turned, terminal portion 21 of the lever. This terminal portionhas a tapered nose 22 to effectively guide it into the opening and amilled slot vpositioned forwardly of the nose is defined at its innerend by asquare shoulder 23 and at its outer end by a tapered shoulder24.

The lever is retained in iiXed but releasable position in the opening bymeans of a slidable latch 25 having an inwardly turned thumb-engagingupper end 26 which is knurled on its upper face. The latch is urgedupwardly by a coiled spring 30 carried concentrically of a pin 31connected at its upper end to the upper end 26 of the latch and mountedfor sliding movement in an opening 32 in a shelf 33. Y v

At its lower end the latch has an opening defined at upper and lowerends by dotted lines 34 and 35 and which receives the horizontal portion21 of the combined lever and handle.

ported for vertical sliding movement in a slot 36 and its upper end in aslot 37 aligned therewith.

When the lever is swung towards the bracket from its outer or diagonalposition the tapered nosecontacts lower edge of the latch opening,camming the latch down-v wardly against the compression of the spring.The full diameter section then passes the opening and when the shoulder23 arrives at the latch face the latch snaps upwardly to the position ofFIG. 2 and the leverlhandlev is locked in place while cam 15 at thelower end of the lever locks the chassis in the housing. The same thingoccurs when the chassis has been removed from the housing and the leveris used as a carrying handle.

In actual practice there may be a separate lever assembly of the typeshown in FIGS. 1 and 2 at one or at each end of the chassis, or onelocking mechanism may be used for two levers, one at each end of thechassis. Thus, in the modified form of the invention in FIGS. 3, 4, and5, a Idouble lever of generally U-shape is' provided for pivotalmounting on of vertical legs 41 joined by a horizontal bar 42. VA cam(not shown) similar to cam 15, is locatedrat the lower end of eachvertical leg. This lever may be made from tube stock or it may be madefrom solid bar stock, and in either event the horizontal section 42 isdeformed by suitable die means to form a recess 43 deiined at its rearend by a shoulder 44 which is engaged by the lower end of a latch 45slidably mounted for Vertical travel on the rear face of an uppersection 46 of the chassis. Section 46 has an elongated vertical slotdened at upper and lowerends by edges StB-51 and being of suicient widthto receive two headedpins 52 mounted in openings 53 in the latch, saidpins passing through openings in a finger piece or release button 54slidablyvmounted on thefront face of upper chassis section 46. Thislatter section which has an inverted U-shaped cut-away portion 55 to rallow for movement of the latch release button 54, is

bent rearwardly lat 56 where it enters the housing 57. A spring 58 urgesthe latch downwardly to locking position.

It will be noted that in the iirst embodiment of the invention a singlebracket secured tothe front wall of the chassis forms a pivotal supportat its lower end for the lever-handle and the locking mechanism for thePatented June 22, 1565 VThe lower end of the latch -is` sup-V thechassis 40, the lever consisting free end of the lever is disposed atthe upper end of the bracket. In the modified form of FIGS. 3-5, thelocking mechanism is incorporated into the chassis while the pivotalsupport for the lever-handle is a separate element. In the next form ofthe invention, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the locking mechanism is merelysupported by the chassis which latter will be only slightly modified toreceive the lever locking mechanism.

The cross bar 61 of the combined lever and handle is generally similarto that shown in FIG. 3 except that the recess 62 and shoulder 63 is onthe lower surface thereof, and in this instance the latch 64 is formedfrom spring sheet metal. It may be stamped out in a single blank and atits inner end the blank is rolled to form a circular loop 65 extendingover its entire width. The spring latch has a narrowed forward section66 and the portions of the blank shown in dotted lines 67 in FIG. 6,lying on either side of the narrowed latch portion, are cut along edges68'from the narrowed portion and are bent to form loops 70. These frontand rear loops are suitably mounted in the housing on fixed pins (notshown).

At the outer end of the spring latch the material is bent double to asubstantially C-shape to form a latch portion 71 which enters the recess62 in the handle. A finger portion 72 at the outer end of the springlatch is depressed to release the lever-handle for pivoted movement.

In FIGS. 8 to 1l the latch, when mounted vertically, has a lesser heightthan that shown in FIG. 1 and accordingly can be used on a chassisoflesser than usual height and in other cases where space limitations arepresent. It also has a handle latch which is operated from the siderather than the top, as in FIG. l, so that if the vertical spacingbetween the superimposed chassis units is very small, the handle isnevertheless readily released for pivotal movement. The bracket 75 issecured by screws to the front wall of the chassis indicated at 76 andthe frame is indicated at 77. A pin 7 8 forms a pivoted support forhandle 80 having the C shaped cam or extension 81 below the pivot, thebracket being provided with a slot 79 to receive this lower section ofthe lever. The C-shaped cam 81 engages a pin S2 on a slotted keeperbracket 83 secured to frame 77.

The bracket has a linger opening 84 and the leverhandle 80 extendsaround a curved forward section 88 of the bracket where the two membersare nested, as shown in FIG. 1l, and then rearwardly at 8S. The rearterminal 89 of the handle is narrowed where it enters the opening in thebracket. A boss 92 forms a finger portion for drawing the handleforwardly. The keeper for the upper end of the lever consists of anL-shaped latch 86 mounted for horizontal sliding movement in atransverse opening 87 at the upper end of the bracket and whose lateralportion 90 is urged outwardly by a spring 91.

In the final form of the invention shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, thelever has the same horizontal upper terminal portion 101 with itstapered nose 102 and notch 103. The keeper 104 is formed at the upperend of the bracket which is thickened and has a recess 105 extendingdownwardly from its upper end and including a front wall opening 106 toreceive the lever terminal 101, and a lower wall recess 110 to receive aspring 111. The rear wall also has an opening 112.

A latch keeper 113 is received in sliding engagement within opening 105and is provided with a latch bolt portion 114 which enters notch 103 inthe lever. The keeper is urged into latching position by spring 111 andVits upper surface is ridged at 115, or otherwise rendered nonsmooth. Theforward end 116 of this upper portion extends forwardly through frontwall opening 106. Below this upperportion an opening 120 is formed whichreceives the horizontal terminal of the lever. A pin 121 carried by thekeeper and riding in bracket slot 112 limits upward travel of thekeeper.

While there have been described herein what are at present consideredpreferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be madetherein without departing from the essence of the invention. It istherefore to be understood that the exemplary embodiments areillustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which isdefined inl the appended claims, and that all modifications that comewithin the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intendedto be included therein.

We claim:

1. A latching assembly for holding a irst member in a home position on amounting member on which said first member can be moved into and out ofsaid home position including in combination a handle having ends, meansfor mounting lsaid handle for pivotal movement on said first memberbetween open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of saidendsv and on said mounting member for moving said first member into saidhome position as said handle moves to its closed position, means forminga hook on the other end of said handle, a latch adapted to engage saidhook, means for mounting said latch for sliding vmovement on said iirstmember and res'ilientmeans for urging said latch to a position at whichit engages said'hook as said handle moves to said closed position.

2. A latching assembly for holding a first member in a home position ona mounting member on which said irst member can be moved into and out ofsaid home position including in combination a handle having ends, one ofsaid ends being provided with a leg, means for mounting said handle forpivotal movement on said irst member between open and closed positions,interengageable means on said leg and on said mounting member for movingsaid first member into said home position as said handle moves to itsclosed position, means forming a hook on the other end of said handle, alatch adapted to engage said hook, means for mounting said latch forsliding movement on saidv irst member and resilient means for urgingsaid latch to a position at which it engages saidy hook as said handlemoves to said closed position.

3. A latching assembly for holding a rst member in a home position on amounting member on which said first member can be moved into and out ofsaid home position including in combination a handle having ends,

means for mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first memberbetween open4 and closed positions, interengageable means on one of saidends and on said mounting member for moving said first member into saidhome position as said handle moves to its closed position, means`forming a hook on the other end of said handle, a latch adapted toengage said hook, means for mounting said latch for sliding movement onsaid first member, resilient means for urging said latch to a positionat which it engages said hook as said handle moves to said closedposition and readily accessible manually operable means for moving saidlatch against the action of said resilient means out of engagement withsaid hook.

4. A latching assembly for holding a first member in a home position ona mounting member on which Vsaid rst member can be moved into and out ofsaid home position including in combination a handle having ends, meansfor mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first memberbetween open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of saidends 4and on said mounting member for moving saidirst member into saidhome position as said handle moves to its closed posi tion, meansforming a hook on the other end of said handle, a latch plate vprovidedwith means adapted to be engaged by said hook, means for mounting saidlatch plate for sliding movement on said one member and resilientmeans'for urging said plate to a position at which said hook engagessaid plate as said handle moves to said closed position.

5. A latching assembly for holding a first member in a home position ona mounting member on which said iirst member can be moved into and outof said home position including in combination a handle having ends,means for mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first memberbetween open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of saidends and on said mounting member for moving said first member into saidhome position as said handle moves to its closed position, means forminga hook on the other end of said handle, a housing adapted to be carriedby said one member, alatch, means for mounting said latch for slidingmovement within said housing, and means normally urging said latch to aposition at which it engages said hook as said handle moves to saidclosed position.

6. A latching assembly for holding a first member in a home position ona mounting member on which said first member can be moved into and outof said home position including in combination a handle having ends,means for mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first memberbetween open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of saidends and on said mounting member for moving said iirst member into saidhome position as said handle moves to its closed position, means forminga hook on the other end of said handle, a housing adapted to be carriedby said one member, a latch, means fory mounting said latch for slidingmovement within said housing and means normally urging said latch to aposition at which it engages said hook as said handle moves to saidclosed position, said latch comprising means extending out of saidhousing to a position at which it is adapted to be actuated to move saidlatch out of engagement with said hook.

7. A latching assembly for holding a rst member in a home position on amounting member on which said first member can be moved into and out ofsaid home position including in combination a handle'having ends, meansfor mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first memberbetween open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of saidends and on said mounting member for moving said rst member into saidhome position as said handle moves to its closed position, means forminga hook on the other end of said handle, a housing adapted to be carriedby said one member, a latch plate formed with an opening for receivingsaid hook, means for mounting said latch plate for sliding movementwithin said housing and means normally urging said latch plate to aposition at which it engages said hook as said handle moves to saidclosed position.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

1. A LATCHING ASSEMBLY FOR HOLDING A FIRST MEMBER IN A HOME POSITION ONA MOUNTING MEMBER ON WHICH SAID FIRST MEMBER CAN BE MOVED INTO AND OUTOF SAID HOME POSITION INCLUDING IN COMBINATION A HANDLE HAVING ENDSMEANS MOUNTING SAID HANDLE FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ON SAID FIRST MEMBERBETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, INTERENGAGEABLE MEANS ON ONE OF SAIDENDS AND ON SAID MOUNTING MEMBER FOR MOVING SAID FIRST MEMBER INTO SAIDHOME POSITION AS SAID HANDLE MOVES TO ITS CLOSED POSITION, MEANS FORMINGA HOOK ON THE OTHER END OF SAID HANDLE, A LATCH ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAIDHOOK, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID LATCH FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT ON SAID FIRSTMEMBER AND RESILIENT MEANS FOR URGING SAID LATCH TO A POSITION AT WHICHIT ENGAGES SAID HOOK AS SAID HANDLE MOVES TO SAID CLOSED POSITION.